Media

The CMRI and TLRC have been the subject of booklets, newspapers, books, and documentaries. This is a collection of all of the well-known publications.

Diocese of Spokane Booklet

In 1980, the Diocese of Spokane released a booklet on the TLRC based on their own extensive research in the late 1970s. They updated the booklet and released a 1986 edition.

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Newspapers

Numerous articles were written on the TLRC beginning in the 1970s. While there is some good information here, newspapers are sensationalized, overly-simplified, heavy biased, and one-sided. A story about the group did need to be told, but the newspapers did a terrible job of it. The newspapers often uncritically published the opinions of the "anti-cult" writers in the 1970s and 80s

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Documentaries & Video

Here are documentaries & discussion of the TLRC and CMRI.

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Ahern Study

A traditional Catholic priest Father Daniel B. Ahern wrote a study on Mt. St. Michael in 1993. This is pretty dated at this point, but there are some interesting points.

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Books

These books provde more information on the TLRC, CMRI, Archbishop Thuc, The Palmarian Church, and American traditional Catholicism.

  • The Smoke of Satan: Conservative and Traditionalist Dissent in Contemporary American Catholicism, by Michael W. Cuneo, published in 1997 by Oxford University Press. This is an excellent book (he's an entertaining writer), the author made a visit to Mt. St. Michael and interviewed numerous members in the mid-1990s. Highly recommended. (check prices on BookGilt)
  • Being Right: Conservative Catholics in America, edited by Mary Jo Weaver and R. Scott Appleby, published in 1995 by Indiana University Press. Looks like an overview of the movement written by liberal Catholics. Reviewers noted some bias. (check prices on BookGilt)
  • Spiritual Blackmail: My Journey Through A Catholic Cult, by Sherri Schettler, published in 2014 by Lifelong Habits LLC (self-published). This is a memoir by former nun Sherri Schettler (Urann) who was in the group from 1975 until around 2000. Highly recommended insider account. (buy on Amazon)
  • Sede Vacante: The Life and Legacy of Archbishop Thuc, by Edward Jarvis, published in 2018 by Apocryphile Press (publisher link).
  • CIA and the House of Ngo, by Thomas L. Ahern, Jr., published in 2000. This book gives information on Bishop Thuc's involvement in the time leading up to the Vietnam War.
  • The Sacred and the Profane by Clarence Kelly (1997). This is published by the SSPV, criticizing the Thuc Bishops. Some interesting nuggests, but a lot of theological stuff that's tough to get through. (read on archive.org)
  • Cults, Sects, and the New Age, by James LeBar, published in 1989 by Our Sunday Visitor. This book is largely a reprint of the booklet from the Diocese of Spokane in 1986. James LeBar has been accused of sexual abuse of children, and much of the "anti-New Age" movement has fizzled out. The book only has a small section on the TLRC/CMRI.
  • A Pope of their Own (second edition) by Magnus Lundberg, published in 2020 by Uppsala University. A review of the Palmarian Church. (direct download)
  • Misalliance: Ngo Dinh Diem, the United States, and the Fate of South Vietnam by Edward Miller, published in 2013 by Harvard University Press. Good overview of Thuc's involvement in Vietnam. (publisher page)
  • Background to Betrayal: The Tragedy of Vietnam by Hilaire Du Berrier, published in 1965 by Western Islands. Dated at this point, there may be better books now. (archive.org)